Something Started
by ellyrocks99
Summary: Jane has an unexpected conversation. University AU. Lokane


Jane was lying down on her back in the middle of the playing field with her eyes closed. This was her favourite place to come when the sun was shining and the world felt like a wonderful place to be. Her paper was going well, her experiments going without a hitch for once, and she had decided that she deserved a break. After all, wasn't Darcy always telling her to relax more? Jane felt rather pleased with herself that next time Darcy complained about her long hours and over-work, that she would be able to mention this moment and tell Darcy that she had actually taken her advice for once.

She felt the warmth of the sun on her face and took a deep breath, held it, then let it out slowly, feeling the air leave her lungs. She felt more relaxed than she had for weeks and prayed that this moment would last a little longer.

There were distant sounds of talking and footsteps, but these were at the edge of the field and too far away to disturb her. She honed in on the sounds of the birds and a distant aircraft, before she heard someone walking softly on the grass, unmistakably coming her way. She prayed that they weren't coming to talk to her, but as the gentle squeak of the shoes against the grass came closer she realised that her prayers were going unanswered.

The feet stopped nearby and Jane debated pretending that she was asleep but decided against it. She was alert now, her restful moment gone, and her brain kicking into gear once again. She sighed and opened her eyes.

What she saw made her pause for a moment and wonder if she was missing something. Standing a few feet away and looking at her with an intense look that he seemed to reserve only for her, was Thor's brother, Loki. With his long black hair left loose, pale skin and piercing green eyes, he was a striking presence and Jane found it hard to take her eyes off him.

Eventually she realised that one of them should say something.

'Loki. Hi, how are you?'

Loki relaxed and walked a little nearer. Jane sat up and brushed some grass off her back before looking back at him. He sat down next to her and crossed his legs. Jane felt dwarfed by him, but then wasn't that how she always felt next to Thor too?

Loki answered in his crisp British accent. 'Hello Jane. I hope I'm not intruding. I have some time before my next class and when I saw you here in the sun I suddenly couldn't think of a better way to spend my time.'

He turned towards her and smiled. Jane was completely taken aback, although she tried not to show it. She enjoyed hanging out with Thor, he was a good friend, but Loki never said more than a few words to her, and always looked like he'd rather be anywhere but where she was. And here he was smiling and making small talk? What on earth was happening? Still, she couldn't help but be polite, and maybe there were reasons that she didn't know about for his reluctance to talk previously.

'Well, Loki, you are very welcome to join me. I won't be here for long as I have to get back and check on my experiment, but it's currently running just fine without me. It's moments like this that I wonder why I don't make more time to come and sit out in the sun. I just get so wrapped up in my work.'

She wondered if she'd said too much, if she was being too personal with him, after all, they weren't really friends. But Loki remained relaxed and replied, 'I know what you mean. I get so involved in my work that sometimes the only thing that stops me is my gnawing hunger. I'll look up and realise that the sun has gone down and everyone has gone home.'

'Oh, me too!' she cried. 'I can't tell you the number of times that's happened to me. Although, I have a friend who tries to stop me from doing that too often. It's a little annoying as I love my work but then I have to stop and eat.'

He laughed at her words. 'I think you and I have more in common than we previously realised, Jane.' He was still smiling and Jane found herself smiling back. She decided to continue the conversation as Loki wasn't going anywhere, and she wanted to find out if this was the real Loki, or the one she previously knew.

'How is your work going? Students driving you crazy yet?'

She knew that Loki was a quiet type who preferred studying to teaching, although that pretty much summed up what she knew about him. That, and he was studying for a Doctorate in Literature. Jane didn't pretend to understand exactly what he was studying. They were so different in their fields of study.

'My class this morning went rather well, thank you. Most of the students had actually done the work that I asked them to do, rather than what they wanted to do, which is a pleasant change. And my paper this week is going very well. I've moved onto the next argument in my paper and things are moving along nicely.'

He looked so relaxed that Jane believed every word and she could understand exactly what he felt. She felt it too when things were going well.

Loki suddenly sat up straighter and looked at her.

'Jane, you must be wondering why I'm talking to you now after avoiding conversation for so long. I can only apologise for my previous behaviour. I'm sure that you are aware that Thor and I, although brothers, have a difficult history and this often comes out when we are together. I can assure you that my behaviour was not of your doing, but purely arising from our family situation.'

Jane took it all in, hardly able to believe that Loki had just said more to her in the past few minutes than in their entire history before. He continued, 'I realise that you may need more time to think about this, but I would like us to be friends. We don't know much about each other but I think that if we spent some time together we would realise that we have much in common.'

He looked at her expectantly and she had no hesitation replying, 'Of course we can be friends. Although, you know that I hang out with Thor occasionally, is that going to be a problem?'

He frowned. 'I cannot say for certain that the situation between Thor and I will always be amicable, but I can promise that if things are difficult it will not be of your doing. That is all I can promise for now.'

Jane thought over his words and realised that she was intrigued by his proposal and wanted to get to know him better. And what did she have to lose? If it didn't work then she would just be back right here where she started.

'Ok Loki, you have a deal. We can be friends. Do you still have some time now? Do you want to get a coffee?'

Loki looked stunned for a moment, and then a huge smile erupted on his face and he said, 'Yes, of course, I'd love one. It will be my treat, to apologise for my previous behaviour towards you.'

She said thank you as he stood up and offered her his hand. She took his hand and once they were up they brushed the grass off their legs.

They walked in the direction of the coffee stand, both deep in thought. Jane stole a look at Loki and found herself wondering just what had happened to make him change his tune so drastically. She was very appreciative of his overtures towards her, as Thor was a good friend and she enjoyed his company. Having Loki skulk around sometimes had made that a bit awkward. Thor was nothing like Loki. He was loud, exuberant, extrovert, and very different to Jane, but she knew that she sometimes needed something a bit different to get her out of her lab and out with friends. Thor also took her just as she was and never tried to change her into someone more outgoing, which she appreciated. After all, there's nothing wrong with being an introvert. She felt that Loki would understand this too, clearly being an introvert himself.

As Loki ordered their coffees, Jane wondered what to say next. What would Loki want to talk about? Surely not her experiments as they were a little complicated to anyone not interested in the same field. As it turned out, she didn't have to worry. Loki handed over her drink and said, 'Shall we sit on the bench over there? Best to grab it before anyone else.'

They walked over and sat down. Immediately, Loki asked, 'Tell me about the experiment that you're doing. I'd love to hear about it.'

'Are you sure you want to know? It could be a bit dull and I'm sure to use words you don't understand. Oh God, I'm sorry, that sounded so rude!'

He smirked, 'Don't worry, I'll stop you if there's anything I don't understand. And I'm sure the same applies in reverse.'

Jane relaxed and told him about her work. As they talked, Loki asked questions and Jane found in him a keen and clever mind, full of intelligence and questions. It felt like they only talked for minutes but when Loki apologised and said he had to leave, it turned out they had been talking for an hour.

'I didn't mean to go on for so long,' apologised Jane.

'Please don't worry about it. I very much enjoyed our conversation and can assure you that I am only leaving because I have a class to attend, and our attendance is marked. Anything else and I would have stayed for as long as possible.'

He looked at her as he said this and Jane felt a bit better. She acknowledged that she too needed to get back to work.

'Perhaps, Jane, we could continue our conversation another time, maybe coffee again tomorrow?'

'That would be lovely. Same time and place?'

They confirmed and then went their separate ways. As Jane walked back to her lab, she thought over their meeting and about how much she'd enjoyed their discussion. A part of her also thought over the way Loki looked at her, and the way he'd held her hand when he'd helped her up. Yes, she was very much looking forward to their next coffee, and to see where it would lead.

To see if something had started.


End file.
